11 essentials to adopt a dog

You have 2 options to have a new dog: buying one from breeder or pet shop, or adopting one from animal rescue organization. I personally suggest adoption because they have millions of homeless dogs looking for family. But you have to know that rescued dogs could be unhealthy in mental and/or physical conditions.

1. Fees:

Adoption fee ranges from a hundred to a few hundreds dollars depending on where you adopt a dog from. Some organizations check applicant's back ground and living environment in advance while animal shelters in Los Angeles don't. In my case at South Los Angeles animal shelter, I paid $122 for adoption fee including microchip registration, spay surgery, and vaccines. I was also provided a free vet checkup voucher valid for the first 72 hours.
See: where to adopt a dog

2. Bedding:

A rescued dog must be very nervous on the first day at new home. Preparing a place to sleep beforehand is ideal for the dog. Since dogs like to be in a small dark place, a crate covered with dark colored cloth can be a safety place for him to sleep and rest. The crate can be also helpful to limit dog's activities in training period.

3. Food:

They have so many kinds of dog food in the market from affordable brands to very expensive ones. What to feed your dog is your choice. You can also cook dog food on your own. I sometimes mix home made food with dry food because nutrition of dry food is well-balanced. I feed my dog twice a day in the morning and the evening, and each portion of the meal is about the size of dog's head.
See: why adding "human food" is so important!

4. Training:

Training may not be as easy as other healthy dogs because of many reasons from the past bad experiences. But you can be patient until the day he will learn it. The basic training way is to command him with an instant hand gesture while doing the action, and to praise him with treats when succeeds. Repeat over and over, and do not hit him when fails.

5. Daily Exercise:

Although some people say small breed dogs do not need exercise, I think all dogs, even small dogs, need to do some exercise everyday. I take my dog for a walk at least an hour everyday and more on weekends.

6. Brushing Teeth:

Even though some dogs (maybe most of dogs) hate to brush their teeth, they need daily teeth cleaning, which prevents from bad breath and tartar. My dog bites tooth brush and bleeds from gum, so I use my fingertip with toothpaste. They have lots of dental cleaning tools if the dog does not let you brush teeth: dental sprays, dental toys, and dental treats.

7. Nail Clip:

Depending on breed size and exercise frequency, nail needs to be clipped every 1~3 weeks. Dogs that hardly go outside might need to clip nail more often. For small breed dogs under 15 lbs, scissors is easier to use than a clipper. If the dog is not cooperate in nail clip, you can ask a vet or a dog groomer.

8. Bath & Grooming:

Dogs need to take a bath every 2~3 weeks, and to groom once or twice a month if long hair dogs. To soak dog's body in water, put a shower head directly onto coat starting from butt to neck. And apply shampoo from butt to neck mixing it with warm water in hand, then wet face and head lightly and shampoo. To rinse it, start from head to butt. Water temperature should be 95~100 F. Bath also prevents from flea infestation.

9. Flea Prevention:

Not only in the summer, we have flea problems almost all year here in Los Angeles as mild weather the whole year. Flea control is very important, so we won't have flea infestation at home. They have 2 kinds of treatments; pill (Comfortis or Trifexis) and topical (Frontline Plus or Advantage) are the most popular. Flea comb is also handy to use after coming back from outside everyday. Daily vacuum cleaning and weekly laundry at home are efficient, too.

10. Daily Health Checkup:

Observe your dog very carefully everyday. Since they cannot say "I'm sick" or "I need xxx", the owner (parent) has to be aware if he is sick or having issues in daily life. Specially check poops, pee, butt and ears daily, and clean if necessary.

11. Enjoy New Life with Dog:

Dogs are loyal; they just want their human to smile. If the owner (parent) is happy, the dog is happy, too. Always remember the 10 commandments of dog ownership. Living with a dog is really a hard work, but brings you lots of happiness.